Last year the NorthWest Comedy Fest and Just For Laughs teamed up to bring Vancouver JFL Northwest, a well-received blend of stand-up, improv and sketch comedy in festival format. Taking place at multiple venues around the city, the festival featured a 47% growth in attendance over the previous year’s Northwest ComedyFest. That had much to do with mega acts like Trevor Noah, Wanda Sykes, Margaret Cho and SNL’s Michael Che gracing the stages of the Queen Elizabeth Theatre, Vogue Theatre and the Biltmore Cabaret. More than that—however—the festival allowed Vancouver’s bustling rich comedy scene to shine, providing opportunities for local comics to open for visiting acts and placing regular comedy shows into the spotlight. This year will be no different.

Tickets for JFL Norhwest—which is set to return February 16th to 25th—went on sale in early December and the coming line-up is not a disappointment, with Sarah Silverman and Trevor Noah performing at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre, and Chris D’Elia and Iliza headlining at the Vogue Theatre. Two-time Emmy Award winner Silverman will lead the pack in the midst of a very busy dual acting and comedy run, and The Daily Show host Noah’s return is highly welcomed as he has had a big year in the spotlight as a respected opinion on global analysis and American culture. D’Elia—best known for his stand-up and Netflix special Incorrigible—is unstoppable lately, while Iliza is the only female and the youngest comedian to hold the title of NBC’s Last Comic Standing. Apart from the visiting acts JFL Northwest will feature the “Best of the West Series” for those wanting to support and discover local talent. Beloved favourite comedy shows like Jokes Please! and Vancouverite will get to shine on a bigger scale than usual, and those using the festival to delve into comedy for the first time are encouraged to take in the whole experience.

Brian Posehn—who can be seen sporadically as a guest character on The Big Bang Theory—will be performing at The Comedy Mix, while The Mindy Project’s Fortune Feimster and Bob’s Burgers’ Andy Kindler also make up some of the 2017 supporting line-up. For more information on the complete schedule and list of talent visit www.jflnorthwest.com.